Hi friends! This is the post I’ve been putting off writing for about a year and currently have a knot in my stomach about writing but it must be done. I’ve thought .. well, if I sell more dolls or maybe next month things be okay (things being financial) and in my optimistic way that this ‘tightness’ would ease up – but it’s not. I finally got a book keeper to work with me (I’ve been through several who don’t want to tackle my business model with all the sewing mamas, PayPal issues, etc) and she delivered dire news on how things are going. My costs have gone up significantly and we aren’t covering costs with the current prices .. everything just keeps going up and up and individually I don’t think are too much but all together it’s hurting the business. Supplies, rents, utilities, insurance, etc, etc – it’s crazy. I don’t want to go on and on about it but I feel like I have a different kind of relationship with you all and want you to know the real deal. I have no choice at this point but to increase the price of the dolls.
I was looking back on my history of price increases and realized that back in 2012 I was charging 250USD .. which is now $324CAD for a Sitting Friend. Forward to 6 years and I’m charging almost $50 less per doll. I made a huge mistake in putting my pricing to CAD – so I went from $250 USD to $250 CAD – and didn’t really think things through as well as I should have three years ago. You all don’t need to know this and I should just be direct but I hate for anyone to think I’m overcharging or gouging .. this is a sore spot for me from doing years of markets and having people balk at my pricing without really knowing what goes into them.
In each doll there’s 10 hours of labour and love, western Canadian sourced wool, hand dyed and hand spun yarns in their hair (which lately is incredible by Andrea and Leola), hand embroidered faces, hand sewn hair, wee shoes and underpants sewn and so much more. I peruse online and local fabric shops trying to find the very best and whimsical fabrics for dressing – nothing but the very best for these dolls. Because when you invest all that time and love into something and know it’s going to be someone’s very special doll then we make sure every detail is thought through. We have 32 women (and one guy) working on these dolls with skill creating them the same way I did 15 years ago .. but better, way, way better 😉
So, my prices will be the following as of July 1st 2018 .. taking it back to 2012 😉 In CAD funds 🙂
Sitting Friends will be $315 (all that art yarn!)
Cuddle Dolls will be $215
Baby Dolls will be $215
Little Buddies will be $175
Forever Friends will be $395
Kit’s will be $105
Clothing will also be going up marginally as well. Shipping will stay the same.
Okay, there we have it, the post I’ve been putting off for a very long time is done. Thank you all SO much – really – my heart is so thankful and grateful for all of you and your doll love and friendship over the years. We could not do this without you! My heart is full.
xoxo,
Christina
And the amazing Nan, whom many of you know from our community group (come join!) has been really helping me through this and wrote me these words which touch in on conscious buying. Which I firmly believe is how we are shaping our lives and future know – the adage voting with dollars has never been more important than now. (these are her words and some from an article in the latest issue of Breathe magazine (Issue 12) titled “The art of mindful curating” that discusses a connection between your purpose and purchasing.
Today, many of us are trying to live with a purpose. This is not an easy task for most people.
We all wonder from time to time what our purpose is while on this earth, what our purpose is each day even.
More and more of us are beginning to connect our life purpose — which changes as we grow, as do our values do — with our purchasing patterns.
What we purchase, who we purchase from, how it is made, who it made by, is it durable, is it timeless, how soon is it destined for a landfill, can it be used and valued if I no longer need it — these are all questions to consider when making a purchase.
Particularly as we age, or when we welcome children into our lives, we begin to think carefully about the ways in which what and how we purchase impact ourselves, others, and the environment presently, and in the future.
We know that we do not take anything we buy with us when we go. The average life expectancy is around 80 years, while the life of our belongings is centuries long. Reminding ourselves of this, we find an opportunity to become a steward for generations to come; the generation that may contain the children you love, and their children, too.
Being a steward is both an act and a mindset.
The act is simple: buy things that are worthy of being handed down and made in a way that allows them to stand the test of time, and take care of them with a view to pass them along. Future generations can benefit from the purchasing choices you make now, even when an object is not passed on to family.
When your purchasing patterns align with living a life of purpose, recognizing that our time on earth is limited, and in considering future generations, your ego becomes less involved. And when ego is taken out of the equation, people tend to do things that make them truly happy. I believe this mindset is evidenced in many Bamboletta customers who give often and freely to others within, and outside of our doll community. For many of us, purchasing from Bamboletta has been a gateway to understanding the value of well and ethically made product.
Many people argue that when their consumer action and mindset change in this way, it is actually cost saving. Yes, it is true that what we buy, when it is fairly and ethically made “may” cost more, though what one notices that when you begin to buy this way, you buy less of things in a category — they are less disposable and/or last longer, even a lifetime (think cast-iron), said another way, less “throwaway and/ortradable”, less wasteful (think food…when you buy more costly organic or non gmo versions, or remove a food item completely you waste less or save money through no longer buying).
When you buy and do things for others and with your community in mind, it nourishes in a way that buying purely for oneself doesn’t. It transfers to other products we buy, everything for household cleaning products, furniture, fabrics, clothing, children’s playthings, even the kinds of vehicles we buy.
Oh, Nan .. thank you for these words. xoxo
Your heartfelt announcement truly made me feel how tough and right your decision was. I appreciate as a Canadian that your price is in Canadian dollars. You have a Canadian company and I personally don’t feel the need to price in US dollars as many groups do. It says to me “proudly Canadian”. To the whole community that make the dolls your value can’t even begin to be shown in dollars. I know you make each part of the doll with a piece of your heart which is priceless.
Thank you so much Christina for starting this doll making and making it possible for us to share them with those we love.
Jeanne F.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Jeanne. xo
To my dear friend Christina –
Our family has loved Bamboletta for more than 8 years. As an accountant and a former auditor, your decision is authentic, justified, and resonable. You are an amazing employer and designer. You care about the people who work for you and for the gorgeous dolls and products you make. Your precious creations have been with my children through the best and worst of times. There is just no price tag on that. The scent of a Bambo doll sends my sweet 11 year old straight to dreamland….
You have my support. I am so proud to ‘know’ you, share a birthday with you (he he! Sept 2nd!, and call you a friend of our family. So much of your heart lives in Rhode Island with us – and always will.
❤️Becca